10 Jun 2014

Gone are the days when people had to rely on government, private sector and other organisations for employment opportunities.

Some youths across the country have resorted to generating their own income directly from customers and clients as opposed to being employees. Mr Duncan Meshack, a 30 year old man from Oodi is living proof of that as he took a risk and quit his job last year to start his own business which he is now operating under a tree in the village.

Mr Meshack earns a living through repairing appliances such as electric irons, kettles, microwaves and stoves. He said repairing appliances is a God given gift which he realised at a young age.

To show that indeed repairing appliances is a God given gift, Mr Meshack did not even go to school to learn how to repair appliances but he is doing a good job. He however indicated that he is keen on going to school to improve his skills and knowledge.

“I was operating my business from home. People used to bring their appliances to me and I would fix them at a price and return them to the owners. I really enjoy my work and back then I was just doing it on part time as I had a full time job,” he said.

In an interview Mr Meshack said he quit his job because he enjoyed offering his services to people and also embrace and nurture his God given gift. He then decided to follow his friend’s advice that he should take his business to the street so that he can attract more customers.

He said ever since he moved his business close to the main road under a tree, he has attracted more customers especially since he is the only one who repairs appliances in Oodi adding that he is in demand.

Now that he has attracted more clients Mr Meshack is planning on finding a place to operate his business from and he has approached the Village Development Committee to rent him a place he can use for his business. He also intends on expanding his business by utilising the youth funding programmes which were introduced by government to empower the youth.

Mr Meshack said he is happy that he is able to live a decent life through repairing appliances. He said with the money he earns through his business he can take care of his family and pay for rent. Spending long hours at work did not even stop Mr Meshack from pursuing his dream of embracing his talent.

He said he felt it was better for him to start a business and use his talent. Moreover he encourages the youths to pull up their socks and embrace their talents as working for oneself is much better than working for someone else, adding that it is important to nurture one’s talent.

Mr Meshack also encouraged the youths who can do handy work to resort to starting their own businesses as it does not require more funding to start. “I had no money when I started my business but I was able to pull through. I used whatever tools I had and it worked for me. Now I can buy things which I could not afford before,”  ENDS